


Late Night Conversation

by MGtwins87



Category: Lost in Space (TV 2018)
Genre: Drinking & Talking, F/M, Late Night Conversations, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-26 02:17:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20036257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MGtwins87/pseuds/MGtwins87
Summary: It's late and Don can't sleep. Neither can Judy.





	Late Night Conversation

It was the eighth night in a row. He’d go to bed with everyone else in the Jupiter 2 only to wake up a couple of hours later. He had always been a light sleeper and being adrift in outer space with no perspective of seeing anything known ever again didn’t exactly make sleeping any easier. In the first night of insomnia, he thought he’d get over it by jogging around the ship. Twenty laps in and his body still wasn’t showing any sign of tiredness. In the second night, he decided to explore the empty spacecraft. Even though he couldn’t shut up when he was around other people, there was something about the quietness that he had always liked. Exploring the ship didn’t turn out to be all that interesting after all. Just a bunch of metal things attached to wires and cables and other metal things… In the third night, after walking aimlessly for half an hour, he ended up in the galley. He had stashed a bottle of whiskey in one of the top cabinets for when things really went to shit, but the idea of pouring himself a glass and just sit there in complete silence sipping alcohol was too damn appealing for him to pass. Being there alone with his whiskey somehow calmed his nerves. In the fourth night, he did the same thing. Half a glass a night. He wasn’t a huge fan of drinking but that moment was more than just getting numbed by the alcohol. It was about contemplation. It was the closest thing he had to get away from reality since he couldn’t sleep anyway. It was the sixth night in a row that he’d sit on that very same stool, glass in hand and thoughts far away.

Don was about to take another sip of his drink when he heard a noise. A door being opened, maybe. None of the Robinsons used to get up in the middle of the night… Silence again. It was probably nothing, perhaps one of the cables got loose and…

“Oh, God!” She yelled in both fright and surprise.

Apparently that cable had a name. Judy was wearing a light pink tank top and white shorts. Her hair was all messy from having just woken up, but it didn’t look bad at all. On the contrary, if he was being honest. He rarely saw her with her hair loose. He decided he preferred it that way.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.” He said in a low tone.

Judy still looked frightened and surprised to see him there. She clearly was expecting to be the only one up at that hour.

“What are you doing up?” She finally asked.

“Guess I could ask you the same thing, right?” He deflected.

She stared at him for a second. He obviously wasn't answering her question.

“I was thirsty, so I came here to get a glass of water.”

“Well, if you’re interested in something else other than water, then I’m your guy.” He pointed to the bottle of whiskey on the counter next to his own glass.

Judy looked at the bottle and then at the man in front of her.

“You know, legally, I’m not allowed to drink.”

“That depends on the country you're in, actually.” He quickly remarked.

“We’re in outer space.” She simply stated.

“So in that case, I guess it’s on you to be the judge on whether or not you should have a drink with me.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. They were stranded in space for weeks now but they hadn’t exactly become friends. Their interaction limited itself to the occasional “good morning” at breakfast and “good night” before they all went to bed. She had been so busy trying to help her parents find a way to contact the Resolute that sometimes she even forgot Don was there. He hadn’t tried to be friends with her either. He was also focused on his own doings, like trying to get the ship rid of all the alien technology. Being in that situation for that long had taken a toll on all of them, maybe more than they’d like to admit. They were practically strangers at that point.

But right then, in that empty dark galley, they had a chance to be somewhat close again, like they were at the beginning of all that. Judy was surprised to realize how much she had missed spending time with him.

“Okay.” She finally decided. “You can pour me a glass.”

Don managed to hide his shock. He wasn’t expecting her to stay a little longer let alone to have an actual drink with him. He couldn’t deny he was glad that she would though. He could use some company, especially hers.

“Only half a glass, princess. This baby needs to last as long as possible…” He got up in order to get her another glass.

Judy directed herself to the opposite side of the counter he was on and took a seat.

“Didn’t you suppose to sell that?” She pointed to the bottle of whiskey in front of her.

“Well, believe it or not, there aren’t many buyers on this ship. Figured I could use some of it for my own benefit.” Don returned to his stool and filled half of her glass.

He handed her the drink and Judy took it still a little insecure. She stared at the liquid for a few seconds before finding the courage to have a sip. She made a face that made him laugh.

“I’m guessing you’d never had whiskey before.” He commented.

The burning sensation in her throat was tolerable now, so she managed to speak:

“It tastes awful! Why do people drink this?” She asked more to herself.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with it tasting good.” He said.

“Why do you do it then?” She questioned.

He stared at her for a moment before replying:

“’Cause it helps with my insomnia.”

“It makes you sleep?” Judy was curious.

“No. It just makes it easier to go through it.” He simply stated.

Don could tell that she got concerned about his current condition and was just about to give him some medical advice, so he decided to change the subject completely:

“So, besides being the youngest doctor alive and a perfect daughter, what did you do for fun back on Earth?”

Judy was a little taken aback by the sudden change of topic. She had already noticed that he hated talking about himself, especially when it came to more serious issues. She could also sense the sarcasm coming from his question, which bothered her a bit. She knew what he thought about her, that she was just a spoiled little brat who had everything she had always wanted. But the man wasn’t sleeping for God only knows how many days, so she decided, against her better judgment, to indulge him.

“I think our concepts of “fun” are two very different things.” She said.

Don smirked at her comment. He took another sip of his whiskey.

“Well, I don’t know about that. You looked like you were having a lot of fun on our ride to get the fuel… at least for the most part.” He remembered Evan and decided to stop talking right there.

Judy also remembered her friend, but she knew that Don was referring to when she opened the Chariot’s emergency hatch to “touch the sky” like he had said it that day.

“I know what you mean. But I had fun studying to become a doctor, too.” She was being honest.

“I won’t argue with you on that.” He could tell that she was that much of a nerd. “But didn’t you do like typical fun things? I don’t know, parties, drinking, dating…?”

Suddenly, Judy regretted saying yes to that drink in the first place. She wasn’t used to sharing details about her personal life. Especially because there wasn’t much to say.

“Well…” She started. “You already know that I missed my prom because I was focused on my studies.” She didn’t quite answered his question.

“Okay.” He said. “So, that’s a no to parties… What about drinking?” He inquired.

Apparently, she wasn’t getting away that easily…

“Didn’t you just see me now with the whiskey?” She answered with another question.

“Good point.” Don commented. “So… that leaves dating.”

He hadn’t quite asked her anything. He had let her choose to talk about it or not. He didn’t look like he was going to insist on that specific subject if she chose to deflect it. Judy was more nervous than she could remember being. But it’s funny what the night can do to people…and a little bit of whiskey too.

She shyly nodded in negative.

Don wasn’t exactly surprised to find out that she had never dated anyone… She had been set out to be the perfect everything so it was only logical that that sort of thing didn’t have much room (or room at all) in her life.

“What about you?”

Her question dragged him back from his thoughts. Judy had been honest with him, so he owed her that much.

“Well… In my case, it’s yes to the parties, the drinking and the dating.”

After his confession, silence took over the room. Both of them knew the conversation was heading a direction that maybe neither of them was ready to go. But that night would prove to be full of surprises…

“Have you ever been in love?” She asked suddenly and above a whisper.

Don finished his drink in one go before speaking. It wasn’t like that was a big secret or anything. He was just so incredibly out of his comfort zone that it almost scared him. He cleared his throat.

“No.” He simply stated.

Judy didn’t say anything. She was waiting for him to elaborate on that answer. And after a few seconds, he figured why the hell not.

“I don’t think I was ever really invested in any of my previous relationships…That is if you can call them that.” He started. “I’ve always been my own person, you know? The girls that I’ve been with in the past…I never got to really know them…guess I was far more interested in…you know.”

“Trying to get in their pants?” She tried.

“That’s one way to put it, yeah.” He smiled at her.

She smiled back. He decided to just go for it:

“Have you?”

Judy took a moment to think about her answer. No, she had never been in love. But there was more that she wanted to say. That she needed to say.

“I just…I just thought I’d have time for that, you know? After my life was already on track.” She stopped to take a sip of her whiskey. She frowned again before continuing:

“But now, I’m lost in space and might never see anyone else besides my own family ever again and everything I’ve done seems… like a waste of time.”

Don had never considered the fact that she might have thought she had missed out on life due to her choices. She always looked so certain of everything…And beautiful. She looked beautiful. Even more so right then, in her PJs and her messy hair.

“You know, if it really comes down to it, I’d be glad to volunteer to show you the fun things in life.” He blurted out.

There was a brief moment of silence. She could tell that he was joking, but the idea lingered in both of their minds longer than it should have.

“Look! We’ve already done the drinking part.” He added in an attempt to break the tension.

Judy laughed at his comment and they got back to being just two people talking about random things in an empty dark galley in the middle of the night. In outer space.

“Thank you.” She said.

“For the whiskey? Come on, I know you hated it.” He joked.

“For the conversation.” She clarified.

“Thank you for the company.”

She smiled and got up to leave. That late night conversation had come to an end, and Don wished he was brave enough to ask her to stay just a little bit longer. Judy turned away and was already halfway to the door when he spoke:

“Judy! Could you do me a favor? Don’t tell your dad what I’ve said, okay? At least not while we’re stuck on the same ship.”

She laughed at his request.

“I won’t.” She promised. “Good night, Don.”

“Good night, princess.”

She smiled broadly at him and his heart skipped a beat which he pretended not to notice. She crossed the door and disappeared into the darkness of the spacecraft.

He let out a sigh he had no idea he had been holding. Suddenly, a feeling of peace starting to grown in him. He felt his eyes got heavier. Maybe now that he had something to dream about, sleeping would come easier.


End file.
